Vet experience: volunteering in different areas at the same time

[dcuellar]

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Hello everyone!!!!! 😀

Really happy to have joined SDN. You guys have really helped me a lot; I've gotten familiar with a lot of things. Because I'm still a noob on here, I've had difficulty researching something I've been dying to know. Haha.

I want to know, how much volunteering did you do at a time? Did you volunteer at multiple locations simultaneously? Is sticking to a place for a while and then moving on to the next place a good idea? What did you all do?

I'm wondering because I want to volunteer in many different locations especially now that I'm on summer vacation (no summer school yay!).

I'm currently volunteering at the Zoo hospital, Monday mornings as an assistant. Pretty much just cleaning and some shadowing. I'm also volunteering at an Equine Rescue Center, just animal handling no vet experience. I called a nearby Equine Hospital, they are not taking volunteers at the moment, but said they would contact me when they are (Don't know how that long is going to take). Want to volunteer at a Marine Mammal Center, waiting for their response as well. With all this, I don't know if I should go and track down a private clinic vet.

Any advice is highly appreciated! And if you know of any threads that talk about this, please paste the link, it will help a lot. THANKS😍

 

[scb44f]

I want to know, how much volunteering did you do at a time? Did you volunteer at multiple locations simultaneously? Is sticking to a place for a while and then moving on to the next place a good idea? What did you all do?

I started off shadowing in one clinic, just one or two mornings a week. After a semester, I decided to bump up the experience-gathering by increasing my hours there and also by adding a second clinic just one morning a week. It worked out that I was able to keep the same weekly schedule in these clinics for that semester.

Then last summer, I found places that would let me come in for a couple of weeks full time to shadow in settings that I was lacking (i.e. exotics and large animal). I spent about two weeks in each one.

At one of those places, I found I could come in once a week and help at the sale barn, so I continued that through the following semester, but I also picked up regular schedules at the two places I had gone into the school-year prior. I think I was at a different clinic each day, so I had a lot of fun with it.

My biggest thing: make sure that schedule works for you AND the place you're going into. It would be terrible for you to have one idea of what your commitment will be like and for them to have a totally different plan for you.

ETA: I made sure the vets/whoever knew what I wanted (i.e. that I would spend 2 weeks full time with them) when I asked, but made sure to be flexible in case any of them were uncomfortable with my request.

 

[Tegan05]

Since it's summer, I'm volunteering with 3 different practices. I typically do 10 hour days, twice a week at the SA clinic, twice a week with the LA/equine vet, and once a week with another equine vet.

I don't see a problem with shadowing at different places as long as you have a lot of hours to put in. It would be different if it was just a weekend at each place, but summer is a good time to get a lot of experience everywhere.

 

[dcuellar]

Thanks scb44f and Tegan05!

By the way:

I don't see a problem with shadowing at different places as long as you have a lot of hours to put in. It would be different if it was just a weekend at each place, but summer is a good time to get a lot of experience everywhere.

Will you continue to volunteer at these places when school starts? I'm kinda getting worried, because I know I'll want to but don't know how I will juggle everything lol. 😀

 

[Howister]

I started working at a SA hospital in high school and still fill in there on occasion.
I worked at a Urgent care center during community college (24 hrs week for a month or two).
During one summers I worked at both the SA Hospital (filling in when necessary) and the Urgent care center (40 hrs a week) at the same time.
After that I did volunteer work (Marine Mammals/Cat spay neuter) along with working at a SA hospital.
Now I am doing lab animal work while in school ( 12 hours a week) and I am going to do a bit of shadowing of a LA vet.

 

[PetVet06]

Last summer I volunteered at two vet clinics, a stables and a wildlife centre all while studying for the MCAT.

I think the important thing is that, if you're doing so much at once, you ensure you don't burn out and really get in a good break before school starts again 🙂

 

[Tegan05]

Thanks scb44f and Tegan05!

By the way:



Will you continue to volunteer at these places when school starts? I'm kinda getting worried, because I know I'll want to but don't know how I will juggle everything lol. 😀

Nope. I am home for the summer and then will be moving back to school, so this is just temporary. I am getting a decent amount of hours in though, and will hopefully volunteer at the same places next summer. That combined with my current experience and whatever I can fit in next year should be enough for me.